So now it is a done deal.

Sadio Mané has made his mind up and is departing Liverpool for German champions Bayern Munich for £35 million.

Mané joined Liverpool in 2016 from Southampton and went on to become one of the best strike forces in world football under Jurgen Klopp.

Last season, he scored 23 goals in all competitions and bagged 90 Premier League goals and 120 overall during his tenure at the club.

Most impressive.

Liverpool and Manchester City are the two top clubs in English Football with Liverpool featuring regularly in Champions League finals over the last few years.

Great manager, great team, loved by the supporters, scoring goals, winning trophies, so why leave a good thing?

Mané says that after six seasons he needs a new challenge and his Senegalese people want him to move on.

But moving on to a new club doesn’t necessarily guarantee success. The Bundesliga is less challenging than the English Premier League and at 30, Mané should still be looking to be tested in the best leagues in the world.

The prospect of partnering with Robert Lewandowski is mouth-watering and that would be a force to be reckoned with in the Champions League. However, the Pole wants out and that is not likely to happen now.

The troika of Mo Salah, Sadio Mané and Roberto Fimino put Liverpool on an altogether different level with the best-attacking force in the EPL. That has now come to an end.

Mané is still a top gun and would be part of a team he knows well. As it currently stands, he is going into a team he does not know and it may take some time to make his mark in Germany.

If he does not perform well there and languishes as a misfit for two seasons, it is difficult to see where he goes from there at 32.

Eden Hazard was a king at Chelsea, banging in goals for fun. He left to go to Real Madrid and has been sidelined, as he continues to get injured and fat. He will now struggle to get into the team and may very well have to move on.

At the start of last season, Harry Kane had his heart set on moving to Manchester City in order to win trophies. He may have done that, but could he command a regular place in that team and would he be beloved by supporters there? We may never know.

For the time being he is committed to Spurs and Conte and will be looking to continue to be the team’s leading striker at a team he calls home.

Liverpool has not wasted time convincing Mané to remain. They have already brought in a replacement in Darwin Nunez who comes in at £140,000 a week. Mane was on £180,000 a week. With Nunez, eight years younger, Liverpool is continually building and not resting on its laurels.

This is a good long-term business play.

It never pays to beg people to stay if they feel they can do better elsewhere. Bid them farewell and see how they make out but make sure that doesn’t cost you too much.

Mané will remain a Liverpool legend and who knows? Maybe one day, like Robbie Fowler and Thierry Henry, he may make a return to his spiritual football home.